Lesson 4

Lesson 4 Blog

Power Points were heavily used in high school and college, but now as a teacher I usually only see them when teachers are providing information to other teachers. As a student I had to create Power Points for speeches or for final assignments. In college, professors used them to relay information as students were supposed to take notes. At the elementary level I don’t feel that PowerPoints are the most efficient way to teach all material.  If I were to use Power Points for every class it would require me to make 20 presentations every week, which would not be feasible for me. I can see using it for some areas and I can see it even more for student assessments. I think it would benefit students more to create a product than watch one on a regular basis. The Professional Speakers Guide comments on the repetition of Power Points and how they seem to be everywhere and I think that is why there is a time and place for them. There is a lot of technology in the world and I think Power Points should be an option, but not a go to for teachers or students. 

TED is an amazing website. It is this database of amazing ideas and discussions that make your jaw drop. I think it would be great for middle and high school grades because students could explore the site, find something that interests them and then respond on what they viewed. The same could be done with elementary aged school children, except the video would probably need to be picked by the teacher, or at least provide a list of options for them to choose from. I myself have found a few videos that I have shared with family because they are so interesting. Another wonderful detail to the site is that the videos are offered in a wide variety of languages, which could help reach out to a variety of ELL students.

Sir Ken Robinson makes a good point in his video that schools today are crushing creativity. I think what is nice about technology is that it has the ability to bring back creativity into the classroom. Students are creating so many things online, using a variety of medias, and I feel it is my duty to use their interests and strengths and bring them into the classroom. By doing this it makes teaching more interesting and learning more fun.

1.  What was the presentation about and to whom did you present it?

The presentation was a PowerPoint that was made using information from Native Languages of the Americas! By Laura Redish and Orrin Lewis. This particular presentation was focused on the Chickasaw. It was one of four PowerPoints created using information from the site to give the students information on each tribe. I presented it to 4^th grade students in four different rotations. The first rotation was required to take notes from what they saw with guidance from me. The second rotation of students had a different set of students that needed some extra guidance. So I altered and created worksheets for every student so they could fill in blanks instead of constantly taking notes. This seemed much more developmentally appropriate for this group of students.

2.  Of which item in your presentation are you the most proud?

I did not love this creation. It was a means to get information to the students. It would have been ideal to let them explore Native Languages of the Americas! on their own but due to lack of technology facilities it was not possible. I had thought about making the slides more condensed, but I wanted the students to decipher through the information to find what they needed, instead of it being directly given to them.

3.  What might you do differently if you could create the presentation again?

I altered the way students wrote the information after the first rotation, and based on that change I do not think I would alter anything else for the purpose of this lesson. It was hard for the students to keep up with the papers, so if I were to change something it would be how we stored their notes or show them earlier in the year on how to be more organized. Best-case scenario would be for students to have a list of questions and resources they could use to find the answers. Then after doing research they could create their own Power Point. This would benefit them more than taking notes and filling in blanks. I would like to integrate projects like this but they will have to cover more information, which is why I am looking into a Wiki for our Kentucky unit in Social Studies.

4.  How did your students respond to the presentation?

The first rotation of students dreaded taking all the notes, but by the 4^th Power Point they had already gotten so much better and faster at taking notes. The other three rotations did better with the fill-in-the blank sheets and I think it worked better for time issues. Their favorite parts were definitely the pictures on the slides. It brought the information to life and allowed them to “put a face with a name.”

EDOL 533

Technology Exploration Assignment Form

Student Name: Samantha Norman                                    Date: 7-18-13

11. ComicLife - http://comiclife.com/ and iSpeech http://www.ispeech.org

1.	Describe what you learned from exploring this resource.  Comic Life is and iPad app, which is fantastic for our school. We have a set of 5 iPads per class so they are much more accessible than computers. The app itself reminds me of the collage app in that you can choose a template and enter photos. Except with this app you enter dialogue, which is great for writing skills. I wish I would have known about this app because I have so many students that love the BONE comic book series. I like the blog they have on their site because it gives a few educational ideas on how to use it in the classroom, like summarizing books. iSpeech is another website that changes text to audio. It is similar to the audio software in our past explorations but I like this one for more personal uses because of their neat apps. It would be great for auditory learners.
2.	How could you use this resource in a school setting?  On ComicLife’s website it shows how students summarized a book they read by creating a comic strip. I love this idea! My students would love being able to summarize by using something other then paper and pencil. They would get writing practice, while also showing me that they know what they read. This is a very neat resource that is very kid friendly. I will definitely be using this next year! Students could use this software to change text from websites to audio clips. This could help students read online articles or other readings. I know when I read online it hurts my eyes or it is sometimes hard to follow and keep your place as you scroll down the page. Transferring it to audio would allow you to sit back and listen. They could use this when doing homework or when in class during independent time.
3.	Would you recommend this resource to other educators? I will definitely tell my colleges about Comic Life, especially because it is an iPad app. This site/app is user friendly and gives the freedom of creation to students. I can see a lot of unique products coming from this app. The site also includes a lot of educational ideas, such as breaking down advertisements or summarizing a book. Students would love to summarize their reading by using a comic strip app. I would inform my teacher friends of iSpeech so they could keep it in mind when they have students that would benefit from hearing material rather than reading it. It would be a good resource to have accessible, but it would vary on which teachers would use it for their students. I defiantly would inform people of the site for personal uses. It has some really unique apps and I would love to be able to pre-heat my oven by voice command! Too cool!

12. VoiceThread - http://voicethread.com/ and http://voicethread4education.wikispaces.com/

1.	Describe what you learned from exploring this resource.  VoiceThread is a website where you sign up to use the VoiceThread software. For one teacher it cost $79 a yr or $15 a month to use. It is an interactive whiteboard type software where students and teachers can leave comments using audio. It reminds me of EduCreations except you cannot add comments. VoiceThread 4 Education is a Wiki that contains a variety of VoiceThreads organized by grade level and other areas. It is a great resource that allows teachers to get ideas on how to use it in the classroom. Very helpful site, that showed me the capabilities of the VoiceThread and what it is used for.
2.	How could you use this resource in a school setting?  VoiceThread could be a great purchase by the school because of the new speaking and listening standards. We teachers need a way to record students and have them collaborate with each other using technology and this would be a great way to do this. VoiceThread 4 Education would be a great resource for the teachers in our building to get ideas on how to incorporate the technology in the classroom. Even if we did not pay for the service of VoiceThread we could use free versions of similar software and use the ideas on their Wiki. We teachers are always looking for fun and new ideas for our students and this site would help in doing this.
3.	Would you recommend this resource to other educators? I would bring up the idea of VoiceThread in a faculty meeting as a way to help cover the speaking and listening standards as well as helping with program review documentation. I think I would show the VoiceThread 4 Education first to give teachers an idea of how we could use it and then if we liked it I would show the regular site so we could purchase the software. I definitely would recommend this software, but that fact that it costs is never a good thing.

13. Storybird - http://storybird.com/ and Scribblar http://www.scribblar.com

1.	Describe what you learned from exploring this resource.  I used Storybird my first year of teaching with second graders and they loved it!! You can create an account as a teacher and have up to 75 students, for free! Students can then log on using the name and password that you give them and access it anywhere. My students were able to create all kinds of stories and include pictures. Students can pick artwork based on a theme or artist they like and from there they can add dialogue. Storybird is a really neat and fun website where students can write and enjoy the process. Scribblar is a neat site where students can collaborate using whiteboard technology. There is a free version and multiple other versions that range in price. Two people can collaborate on the free plan but there is a possibility for up to fifty people to collaborate on the same board. It is like whiteboards we use at school but virtual.
2.	How could you use this resource in a school setting?  Storybird would be a great site for kids to work on independently throughout the year. They could be creative and publish stories that their peers could comment on. This would help students edit and reflect on their work. This site would also be good to create an assignment and allow students to use the site for their product. Scribblar would be a great site for older grade levels to use on a collaborative project, since it allows for students to interact at the same time. However, I think a fun way to use it for my 4th graders would be to give them a math problem and they would have to solve it with a partner using the whiteboard software during lab time or even at home.
3.	Would you recommend this resource to other educators? I would definitely recommend Storybird to other teachers. It is very easy to set up and use and students really enjoy it. It can be used at any level, except some images might be inappropriate for younger ages, so teachers must monitor. Scribblar would not be a site I would run and tell my elementary teacher friends about, but it is defiantly a good resource to know exists. I don’t feel that elementary teachers would get a lot of use out of it since students don’t always have technology access at school or home.  I think it would work better in the higher-grade levels than at the elementary levels because of the independent collaboration that could be done away from school.

14. Xtranormal - http://www.xtranormal.com/ and VirtualManipulatives: http://nlvm.usu.edu

1.	Describe what you learned from exploring this resource.  Xtranormal is a really cool site that I know my students would love! The site allows you to basically create your own cartoon, and not just the character. You can make it walk and talk, so neat! The downside is that it is not 100% free. There is a free version but it requires you to buy the characters. I love Virtual Manipulatives! We all have Smart Boards at school and the fact that we can make the manipulatives interactive on the board is going to be great for students. The site is for Math manipulatives and is organized by subject area and grade level. It is very easy to use and has an abundant amount of resources.
2.	How could you use this resource in a school setting?  You could use this software for all kinds of activities. You could have students create a character based on a character in a book or historical figure. You could have them make a character that gives a speech, use it to make an advertisement. The list goes on and on. It would allow them to work on their writing, dialogue skills and it would allow them to use technology. It would be really great to see what kids came up with. I could use Virtual Manipulatives everyday in math. This is the one site that will be easily implemented immediately in this next school year. I will use it to introduce a concept and then continue to sue it as students are called to the board to work out problems. Great site!
3.	Would you recommend this resource to other educators? I would love to be able to use this in my classroom, but according to the site they are out of business for the time being. They are moving to Stage 2 and require some down time so it would not be something we could probably do this year, but could be a possibility in the future. I know my students would love this so I would really like to figure out the best way to implement it into the classroom. I would recommend teachers to take a look at the site because of how much enjoyment the students would get from it in class. I will definitely be telling my fellow teachers about Virtual Manipulatives! I think it will help a lot of us incorporate the Smart Board in the classroom, rather than just use it as a projection screen. I think if my colleges do not know about this site they will be happy to know about it now.